Air volume control



May 7, 1963 A. L. GOOD AIR VOLUME CONTROL 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 10, 1959 FIG.

FIG.

INVENTOR. ARTHUR soon FIG. I2

ATTORNEY y 7, 1963 A. L. GOOD 3,088,412

AIR VOLUME CONTROL Filed April 10, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. ARTHUR L. GOOD ATTORNEY ,valve ShtOWn in FIGURES and 6, taken on United States Patent 0 3,088,412 AIR VOLUME CONTROL Arthur L. Good, Goshen, Ind., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Robertshaw-Fulton Controls Company, Richmond, Va., a corporation of Delaware Filed Apr. 10, 1959, Ser. No. 805,491 2 Claims. (Cl. 103-6) The present invention relates to a hydro-pneumatic water system and more particularly to a mechanism for maintaining the desired amount of air in the storage in such a system.

One of the principal objects of the present invention is to provide a mechanism for automatically maintaining with relatively close accuracy the desired quantity of air in the storage tanks of conventional independent domestic and small commercial water systems.

Another object of the invention is to provide an air volume control device of simplified design and construction which only a few relatively simple moving parts are employed to perform the complete operation.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a reliable, efiective air volume control device which can be easily installed in any conventional or standard system of the aforementioned type and which will give prolonged service with little or no attention or special care.

A further object is to provide an air volume control mechanism which is so constructed that it can be easily fabricated ready for installation in a hydro-pneumatic Water system Without any adjustments being required either during installation or throughout the normal operating life of the mechanism, and without respect to any particular mounting position or angle.

The present air volume control mechanism is installed on or connected to the water storage tank of the water system at approximately the desired predetermined water level and is connected to the water supply line on the intake side of the pump. In response to suction created during the operation of the pump, air is either drawn into the mechanism from the tank or from the outside air depending on Whether the water level is low or high at the beginning of the pumping cycle. The present mechanism which is of simplified construction especially adapted for this type of hydro-pneumatic system will be more clearly understood from the following description and accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a schematic view of a water supply systern showing the present air volume control mechanism installed therein;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged front elevational view of the air volume control mechanism shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged vertical cross sectional view of my air volume control mechanism taken on line 33 of FIGURE 2, showing the elements of the unit in one operative position;

FIGURE 4 is a vertical cross sectional view similar to the one of FIGURE 3 showing the elements of the unit in another operating position;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged end elevational view of one of the valves of the mechanism shown in FIGURES 3 and 4, removed from the mechanism;

FIGURE 6 is an elevational view of the other end of the valve shown in FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 7 is a longitudinal cross sectional view of the line 77 of the former figure;

FIGURE 8 is an enlarged end elevatioal view of another valve of the present mechanism, removed from the mechanism;

FIGURE 9 is an elevational view of the other end of the valve shown in FIGURE 8;

FIGURE is a longitudinal cross sectional view of the valve shown in FIGURES 8 and 9, taken on line Ill-10 of the former figure;

FIGURE 1 1 is a cross sectional view of the present mechanism taken on line ll-11 of FIGURE 4; and

FIGURE 12 is a plan view of a diaphragm used in the present mechanism.

Referring more specifically to the drawings and to FIGURE 1 in particular, numeral 12 indicates a Water storage tank of a domestic independent water system, 14 an electrically driven pump, 16 the upper end of a water well, 18 a conduit connecting the casing with the pump, 20 a conduit connecting the pump with the lower portion of tank 12, and 22 an outlet conduit leading to various taps and other water outlets. The present air volume control mechanism shown at numeral 24 is mounted on the side of tank 12v and connected to conduit 18 between a check valve 26 and the pump on the intake side thereof by a pipe 28. The present control mechanism communicates with the interior of the tank near the normal low water level which fluctuates between approximately the point indicated by broken line A and the point indicated by broken line B, air under pressure occupying the space in the tank above the water level. The elements and unit comprising the water supply system, with the exception of the present control mechanism, may for the purpose of the present description be considered conventional or standard equipment available on the market, and will not be described in detail herein.

The air volume control mechanism consists of a base 30 and a cover 32 forming an enclosure separated into two chambers 34 and 36 by a flexible diaphragm 38 of rubber or rubber-like material held in fluid tight relation between the base and cover by deformation of an annular flange 40 of the cover around the edge of an annular flange 42 on the periphery of the base. To assure a firm grip between the diaphragm and the flanges on the cover and base an annular bead 46 on the periphery of the diaphragm seats in an annular groove 48 on the edge of flange 42 and is held therein by the adjacent annular portion 50 of the cover. The diaphragm has a disc shaped center portion 52 of a relatively thick in flexible section connected to bead 46 by a flexible frustoconical portion 54 which permits the diaphragm to move from the internal surface of base wall 56 to the internal surface of cover wall 58 with little or no resistance from said portion. The diaphragm being of material impervious to water and air and being firmly clamped between the base and cover in sealed relation completely separates chambers 34 and 36 in all positions of operation. The diaphragm is urged to the position shown in FIGURE 3 by a conical coil spring 60 which reacts between the right hand face of the diaphragm and wall 58 of the cover. An annular rib 62 is provided on the edge of center portion 52 of the diaphragm to center and retain the adjacent end of spring 60 on the diaphragm and a slight inwardly extending protrusion 64 projects into the right hand end of the spring to center and retain the latter on wall 58.

Chambers 34 and 36 are expandable from very little capacity to nearly the entire volume of the unit as seen from FIGURES 3 and 4 as the diaphragm shifts be tween the positions shown in the two views. Chamber 34 is connected to the interior of tank 12 by a passage 70 in extension 71 of the base and is connected with the atmosphere through a passage 72, and chamber 36 is connected with the inlet pump 14 through passages 73 and 74 and pipe 28. The flow of fluid through passage 70 is controlled by a valve element 76 of resilient material such as rubber or rubber-like materials disposed in an enlarged portion 78 of said passage and held th by a cup shaped member 80 having a centrally located port 82 connecting said enlarged portion with chamber 34. Valve element 76 is one of the important features of the present invention and consists of a disc shaped portion 84 with an annular ridge 86 along the outside edge thereof for seating on the internal surface of member 80 surrounding port 82. The ridge contains one or more small slots 88, three spaced slots being sho for permitting air to pass around element 76 without permitting the water to do so. The air will flow freely through slots 88 and port 82 without appreciably deflecting or distorting element 76. Water, however, due to its density thus causes a pressure drop across element 76 and will distort element 76 sufliciently to close slots 88 and possibly seat portion 84 over port 82, completely and effectively closing said port.

Portion 84 is connected by a cylindrical stem 90 to an enlarged stabilizing portion 92 having a plurality of slots 94 to permit fluid, both water and air, to pass freely by portion 92 under all conditions. The entire element 76 is formed of rubber or rubber-like material sufiiciently resilient to permit portion 84 to flex under the pressure of any water in passage 70 and seat completely on the surface member 80 to seal off port 82. Passage 72 is controlled by a valve 100 similar in construction to valve element 76, consisting of disc shaped portion 102 with an annular ridge 104 along the outside edge thereof for seating on the surface around the inner end of passage 72. Ridge 104 does not contain slots similar to those in ridge 86 of valve 76. Portion 102 is connected by a cylindrical stem 108 to an enlarged stabilizing portion 110 having a plurality of slots 112 to permit the air passing through passage 72 to flow freely around portion 110. The valve element is retained in enlarged portion 114 of passage 72 by a cup shaped member 116, said member having a central hole 118 for the passage of air from chamber 34 to passage 72. Valve element 100 permits air to flow only into chamber 34 and acts as a check valve to prevent the outward flow of air from said chamber.

In the operation of the present air volume control mechanism when the pump starts to operate in response to the demand for more water in the system, the vacuum, i.e., the low pressure, created by pump 14 at its intake is transmitted through pipe 28 and passages 74 and 73 to chamber 36. The low pressure in this chamber causes diaphragm 52 to move from the position shown in FIG- URE 3 to the position shown in FIGURE 4 in opposition to spring 60, the diaphragm normally moving fully from one position to the other as soon as the pump is in full operation. With the water low level in the tank above the top of passage 70 or in said passage, valve element 76 immediately closes port 82 and prevents the water from entering chamber 34. When valve element 76 closes, sufiicient differential in pressure is created across valve element 100 to displace it from its seat around hole 72, permitting atmospheric air to fill chamber 34 in its enlarged capacity shown in FIGURE 4. As soon as the water pressure in the system has returned to a predetermined high level setting indicated by H, pump 14 shuts down, relieving the vacuum in chamber 36 and permitting spring 60 to return diaphragm 52 to the position shown in FIGURE 3. The return of the diaphragm to this latter position ejects the air from chamber 34 through passage 70 into the tank, thus increasing the volume of air above the water level in the tank. This operation of injecting air into the tank is repeated each time the pump is started and stopped until the water level in the tank falls below the bottom of passage 70, identified on the tank by broken line M. As long as the water level is below line M, valve element 76 remains all its seat around port 82 when diaphragm 52 is moved from the position shown in FIGURE 3 to that shown in FIGURE 4 and permits the chamber 34 to fill with air from the tank rather than with atmospheric air through passage 72. The air withdrawn from the tank is returned thereto when the pump is stopped and the diaphragm is returned to its original position shown in FIGURE 3. The water level at which the pump is started will gradually return to its higher level at line A as the air in the tank is absorbed by the water during the normal operation of the system. The present air volume control mechanism will then again operate to inject additional air into the tank as previously described when the low water level rises above line M.

While only one embodiment of my air volume control mechanism has been described in detail herein, various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

1 claim:

1. In a water supply system having a tank for storing water under air pressure and a pump for intermittently delivering water to the tank, a device for controlling the amount of air in the tank comprising a casing having oppositely disposed end walls defining a hollow interior therebetween, a diaphragm separating the interior into a pair of chambers and being movable in response to differential pressure between said chambers, an externally threaded extension formed on one of said walls for mounting the casing on the tank wall and having a passage therethrough for providing communication between one of said chambers and the interior of the tank, an enlarged recess formed in said one wall in registry with said passage, a cup shaped retaining member mounted in said enlarged recess and having an apertured end wall for the flow of fluid from said one chamber to said passage, a valve member mounted between the end wall of said cup shaped retaining member and the shoulder formed by the junction of said enlarged recess with said passage, said valve member having a disc shaped portion with an annular ridge thereon for seating on the apertured end wall of said retaining member, a plurality of slots in said annular ridge for permitting a fiow of air only in both directions between said one chamber and the tank, said disc shaped portion being of resilient material whereby water pressure from said passage causes said disc shaped portion to seat against the apertured end wall of said retaining member to prevent the flow of water from said tank into said one chamber, conduit means adapted to establish communication between the other of said chambers and the inlet side of the pump whereby said other chamber is evacuated during pump operation and said diaphragm is positioned adjacent the other of said walls, a recess formed in said one wall adapted to communicate with atmosphere, check valve means operatively disposed in said recess for permit-ting a single direction flow of air from atmosphere into said one chamber, and means biasing said diaphragm against said one wall into sealing engagement with said check valve means to prevent a flow of air therethrough and into sealing engagement with the apertured end wall of said retaining member to prevent flow of air from the tank to said one chamber whenever the pump is inoperative.

2. In a water supply system having a tank for storing water under air pressure and a pump for delivering water to the tank, a device for controlling the amount of air in the tank comprising a casing having an oppositely disposed end wall defining a hollow interior therein, a diaphragm in said casing separating the interior thereof into a pair of chambers and being movable in response to differential pressure between said chambers, an externally threaded projection on one wall of the casing for mountin g the casing in the tank wall and having a passage therethrough for providing communication between one of said chambers and the interior of the tank, an enlarged recess formed in the passage adjacent the casing wall and forming a shoulder with said passage, a cup shaped retaining member mounted in said recess having a cylindrical wall and an apertured end Wall, the end of said cylindrical wall abutting said shoulder and said ap'ertured end wall cooperating with the inner Wall of said one chamber to provide a continuous surface therewith, a valve member mounted in said retaining member having a disc shaped portion with an annular ridge thereon for seating against the aper tured end wall of said retaining member, a plurality of slots formed in said annular ridge (for permitting a flow of air in both directions between said passage and said one chamber, said disc shaped portion being of resilient material so that water pressure from said passage will cause said disc shaped portion to seat against said apertured end Wall to prevent the flow of Water from said tank into said one chamber, a stem formed on said disc shaped portion, stabilizing means having a plurality of slots therein mounted on said stem for cooperating with said shoulder and said cylindrical wall to maintain said valve element in proper orientation in said recess, the diaphragm cooperating with said apertured end Wall to prevent the flow of air between said tank and said one chamber when the diaphragm is seated against said apertured end wall.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,220,209 Carpenter Nov. 5, 1940 2,261,648 Goldstein Nov. 4, 1941 2,709,964 Brady June 7, 1955 2,793,649 Hamer May 28, 1957 2,823,694 Champion Feb. -18, 1958 2,899,900 Haskett Aug. 18, 1959 2,908,282 Maisch Oct. 13, 1959 2,916,042 Brady Dec. 8, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 937,214 France Mar. 1, 1948 

1. IN A WATER SUPPLY SYSTEM HAVING A TANK FOR STORING WATER UNDER AIR PRESSURE AND A PUMP FOR INTERMITTENTLY DELIVERING WATER TO THE TANK, A DEVICE FOR CONTROLLING THE AMOUNT OF AIR IN THE TANK COMPRISING A CASING HAVING OPPOSITELY DISPOSED END WALL DEFINING A HOLLOW INTERIOR THEREBETWEEN, A DIAPHRAGM SEPARATING THE INTERIOR INTO A PAIR OF CHAMBERS AND BEING MOVABLE IN RESPONSE TO DIFFERENTIAL PRESSURE BETWEEN SAID CHAMBERS, AN EXTERNALLY THREADED EXTENSION FORMED ON ONE OF SAID WALLS FOR MOUNTING THE CASING ON THE TANK WALL AND HAVING A PASSAGE THERETHROUGH FOR PROVIDING COMMUNICATION BETWEEN ONE OF SAID CHAMBERS AND THE INTERIOR OF THE TANK, AN ENLARGED RECESS FORMED IN SAID ONE WALL IN REGISTRY WITH SAID PASSAGE, A CUP SHAPED RETAINING MEMBER MOUNTED IN SAID ENLARGED RECESS AND HAVING AN APERTURED END WALL FOR THE FLOW OF FLUID FROM SAID ONE CHAMBER TO SAID PASSAGE, A VALVE MEMBER MOUNTED BETWEEN THE END WALL OF SAID CUP SHAPED RETAINING MEMBER AND THE SHOULDER FORMED BY THE JUNCTION OF SAID ENLARGED RECESS WITH SAID PASSAGE, SAID VALVE MEMBER HAVING A DISC SHAPED PORTION WITH AN ANNULAR RIDGE THEREON FOR SEATING ON THE APERTURED END WALL OF SAID RETAINING MEMBER, A PLURALITY OF SLOTS IN SAID ANNULAR RIDGE FOR PERMITTING A FLOW OF AIR ONLY IN BOTH DIRECTIONS BETWEEN SAID ONE CHAMBER AND THE TANK, SAID DISC SHAPED PORTION BEING OF RESILIENT MATERIAL WHEREBY WATER PRESSURE FROM SAID PASSAGE CAUSES SAID DISC SHAPED PORTION TO SEAT AGAINST THE APERTURED END WALL OF SAID RETAINING MEMBER TO PREVENT THE FLOW OF WATER FROM SAID TANK INTO SAID ONE CHAMBER, CONDUIT MEANS ADAPTED TO ESTABLISH COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE OTHER OF SAID CHAMBERS AND THE INLET SIDE OF THE PUMP WHEREBY SAID OTHER CHAMBER IS EVACUATED DURING PUMP OPERATION AND SAID DIAPHGRAM IS POSITIONED ADJACENT THE OTHER OF SAID WALLS, A RECESS FORMED IN SAID ONE WALL ADAPTED TO COMMUNICATE WITH ATMOSPHERE, CHECK VALVE MEANS OPERATIVELY DISPOSED IN SAID RECESS FOR PERMITTING A SINGLE DIRECTION FLOW OF AIR FROM ATMOSPHERE INTO SAID ONE CHAMBER, AND MEANS BIASING SAID DIPHGRAM AGAINST SAID ONE WALL INTO SEALING ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID CHECK VALVE MEANS TO PREVENT FLOW OF AIR THERETHROUGH AND INTO SEALING ENGAGEMENT WITH THE APERTURED END WALL OF SAID RETAINING MEMBER TO PREVENT FLOW OF AIR FROM THE TANK TO SAID ONE CHAMBER WHENEVER THE PUMP IS INOPERATIVE. 